


Back to Work Alternate Ending

by Startedwith1Whisper



Category: BrainDead (TV)
Genre: 1.05 Alternate Ending, 1.06 Alternate Beginning, Angst and Fluff and Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Luke is selectively oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-26 20:50:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7589659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Startedwith1Whisper/pseuds/Startedwith1Whisper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting Anthony out of her apartment, Laurel decides the best way to break the grip of her fears is to get out and stay with a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back to Work Alternate Ending

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stand the way the last episode ended. I don't think Laurel's actually going to be infected (because she's the main character, the Kings hinted that they'd always intended for her to survive, and 5 episodes in is a little early to infect your main character if you have to do it), but I can't stand the thought of it happening. This is the ending I would've preferred, and it also has a cliffhanger (to be resolved in chapter 2).

Once Anthony’s finally gone (and how did Gareth manage to know something about him was off before she did?), Laurel decides to get rid of the flowers he brought. She’s not sure if it’s because Gustav’s screwworm thing with the bacon ( _could either Rochelle or Dr. Alaimo have possibly approved of it, or did he just find it on one of his conspiracy theory sites?_ ) got to her or if it’s just general Anthony-related repulsion, but she seals them in about 3 trash bags before taking them outside.  
Her trash can’s not enough; not even the Dumpster outside her building is far enough away for her. She just keeps walking and ends up tossing them the first place she feels is safe, which turns out to be a public trash can 5 blocks away.  
After she’s finally disposed of the flowers and gotten back home, she paces the apartment for what feels like hours, but she still can’t shake the fear-of him coming back, of the screwworms, of what is happening and what could still happen with the government, of everything.  
Finally she gets tired of the fear. She packs a go bag and calls the first person who comes to mind.  
“Hey, it’s me. Turns out Anthony was a scumbag. He tried to hurt me tonight, and I just barely managed to fight him off.”  
The person on the other end responds.  
“Yeah, I’m OK. I just-now I’m feeling really scared.”  
They ask her if she wants to move out.  
“I don’t know-maybe. Right now I’m tired and I’m scared and I’m not sure if I can make any permanent housing decisions when I’m like this-they may not be too smart. Can I just stay with you for a few days until I figure things out?”  
They reply instantly.  
“Yes? Oh my God, thank you so much! I’ll be right over.”  
Laurel cracks a smile as she hangs up. Now that she knows her friend’s taking her in, she can feel the fear start to melt away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's the mysterious friend Laurel's couch-surfing with? Feel free to debate amongst yourselves below!


	2. Notes Toward a Post-Reagan Theory… Alternate Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After securing her temporary living arrangements, Laurel wakes up in the middle of the night and ends up (sort of) admitting what’s been in front of her for weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not writing out the full title for episode 1.06. I mean, I know these titles are long and jargon-y, but that one's just ridiculous.

Laurel wakes up in the middle of the night with a dry throat. She tries to go back to sleep, but finally ends up slipping into the kitchen and grabbing a glass when it becomes too strong to avoid. As she sips her water, she thinks back to earlier and remembers calling Luke on her way out the door. 

“Hey, Luke, it’s Laurel. I’m having some bug problems in my apartment-I’m not sure what kind of bug, I think it’s roaches or something-so I’m going to be staying with a friend for a few days until the super gets it fixed.”  
“So you might come into work late at some point during the next few days until you get used to the new commute?”  
“Yeah.”  
“You know what? You’ve been under a lot of stress lately-dealing with the shutdown, handling disgruntled clients, discovering some sort of new parasite-and you’ve still managed to do a great job with the constituents. Since you just had to leave your apartment in the middle of the night on top of all that, why don’t you take tomorrow off? I mean, the last thing I need is any more of my staffers or allies going nuts-Scarlett and Ella have both already done a bang-up job of that.”  
She really was grateful for the offer, but old currents of sibling rivalry obliged her to hit him with a blast of her usual sarcasm. “Really? You mean the government’s finally strong enough to go a day without me?”  
“Very funny. Do you want the day off or not?”  
“I’m probably the most apolitical person in this town and I work for a politician, who I happen to be related to. Of course I want the day off.”  
“And you realize that in return I’ll probably end up asking you for a strange favor at an unspecified later date?”  
“Yeah, that’s fine. Sounds like an average day in DC.”  
“OK, then. It looks like we have a deal.” 

Playing up a variation on the bug angle was definitely the way to go-he’d seemed to handle it pretty well, whereas if she’d mentioned the other thing he’d have gone into overprotective-big-brother mode and never left her alone. Granted, she doesn’t want to be alone right now (she’d have gotten a hotel room if she’d wanted that), but she **really** doesn’t want Luke fussing over her.  
Her current living arrangements are much better, even though they bring up some annoying thoughts. Right now these annoying thoughts take the form of what happened a few hours ago. 

“Thanks for letting me stay here,” she said, setting up her things in the guest bedroom.  
As much as she tried to hide it, she felt her knees buckle a little on seeing Gareth’s answering smile. “No problem. You can come over any time you need to.”  
“But that could ruin both our careers. Are you sure?”  
“If I weren’t, I’d have told you to stay with Rochelle.”  
She was almost satisfied, but not quite. “What about Misty?”  
“Misty? She was just a work thing. If she were having a roach problem, I’d give her a recommendation for a good hotel-I don’t let people stay here any longer than a night unless I really care about them.”  
“‘Really care about them?’ You mean you have actual feelings for me?”  
He brushed a piece of her hair back, framed her face with his hands, and kissed her deeply. When the air ran out, he pulled back with a smirk. “So what does that tell you about my feelings for you?”  
She nodded, desperately trying to catch her breath. “Yeah, I think I get the picture. I left an FBI interview when I thought you’d died. What does that say about **my** feelings?”  
She then proceeded to swallow his smile in an aggressive kiss, molding herself to the planes of his body as well as she could, and before she knew it her leg was wrapped around his waist. She lost her shirt just outside the door of the guest bedroom and had just enough awareness to know this wasn’t the plan, but by the time various other articles of clothing littered the hall and she was on his bed, his hands and mouth providing the most exquisite torture as the tip of his cock just barely grazed her opening, she lost her desire for anything else. All she wanted was to stay put and have more of him. 

When the replay ends at what she can’t help but admit is probably her best orgasm in recent memory, she starts out berating herself for her weakness but ends up reaching a détente with herself.  
_Why do I keep smiling every time I think about this? Damn my traitorous heart! Then I couldn’t even take the guest room like a normal person because my libido decided it just **had** to join the mutiny. And the worst part is I like it! I don’t want my common sense to win! Oh, fuck it. I’m falling like I’m on a roller coaster, and I think I’ll just enjoy the ride._  
She smiles wider at this thought, playing with the cuff of his shirt she gained from the floor in a postcoital salvage mission, as she finishes her drink and puts the glass in the dishwasher. 

“Laurel? You OK, Lo?”  
Gareth’s standing at the edge of the table when she looks up. He’s squinting at her, still half-asleep but obviously worried, and she can’t help grinning at his concern.  
“Yeah, I’m fine. I got up to get a drink and then I started thinking about us.”  
“That can’t be good,” he jokes with a stifled yawn as he starts to head back to the master bedroom.  
She laughs and follows him. “No, no, no, there’s nothing to worry about! Look, I don’t know quite yet what we are, but I think I can see down the road, and I think I see it turning into love. Or maybe it’s already love and we’re just both too stubborn to admit it right now. Whichever it is, I just want to enjoy us without putting a label on it.”  
“Sounds good,” he murmurs, climbing back into bed. “I’ll see you in the morning, my freeform almost-lover.”  
Her “Good night” is lost in a new round of laughter as she slides under the sheet and against his firm torso. 

She wakes up again around 7 to hear Gareth talking in a nasal voice through a closed bathroom door.  
“Look, I’m so sorry to leave you in the wind like this, Red. I just really can’t come in today. I think I caught one of those summer colds, and it’s beating my ass.”  
He punctuates this statement with a horrible fake cough. Apparently Wheatus can’t recognize it as fake, if Gareth’s next words are any indication.  
“What? I might not have caught this cold if I’d been drinking smoothies like you? I’ll keep that under advisement. Anyway, today I’ll be hitting the cold meds and chicken soup pretty hard, and I should be back in tomorrow. Anna can take care of my duties until then-if you have any problems or questions about where we are with the One Wayers, ask her. (fake cough) OK, Red, I’ll see you then. Thanks.”  
He comes back into the bedroom looking incredibly smug.  
“What was all that?” she teases him.  
He waggles his eyebrows at her. “Whatever you want it to be.”  
“I’m just glad Wheatus is missing half his brain, ‘cause you can’t fake-cough to save your life.”  
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that!” he growls as he ducks under the sheet to settle between her legs.  
She squeals and pretends to push him away, but she really can’t bring herself to resist.  
Her payment for mocking his fake cough is him bringing her to the edge at least five times without actually letting her come. Once she accepts it, though, she comes so hard she blacks out for a few seconds. When she comes to, she decides she has to give him the same treatment.  
The rest of the day is a blur of sex, takeout, and crappy TV before they both have to get to bed in order to have half a chance of functioning tomorrow.

When Laurel gets back to the office two days after the Anthony incident, she has dark circles under her eyes and appears to be wearing a men’s blazer over her dress. She also keeps humming sappy pop songs at random times. In one of his more astute moments, Luke just blinks and pretends not to notice.


End file.
